Sirius: "No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge… I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."

Family life

Orion and his wife, like many members of the Black family, believed strongly in blood purity. To this end, they disowned their older son Sirius when he expressed different views, leading to Sirius moving in with the Potter family and Walburga burning his name off the family tapestry when he was sixteen years old.

Orion and Walburga favoured their younger son, Regulus, and approved when he joined the Death Eaters. Though they were not members of the organisation themselves, they agreed with Lord Voldemort's values and goals. However, according to Sirius, they became dismayed when they realised how far Voldemort was willing to go to achieve his aims; this may have been the reason behind Orion strengthening his home's magical defences during the height of the First Wizarding War.[3]

Death

Possessions

Ring

"Several times Kreacher sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under his loincloth, muttering horrible curses every time they caught him at it. When Sirius wrested a large golden ring bearing the Black crest from his grip, Kreacher actually burst into furious tears and left the room sobbing under his breath and calling Sirius names Harry had never heard before."

Orion owned a ring which was later thrown out by Sirius Black despite Kreacher's efforts to rescue it. It was big and golden, and had the family crest of the House of Black on it. During a clean-out of 12 Grimmauld Place, Kreacher tried to smuggle the ring to his room, but Sirius caught him and wrested it from his hands. Kreacher then cried furiously and cursed at Sirius under his breath.

Etymology

Orion, like many members of the House of Black, is named after a constellation. Orion is a very prominent constellation, known as the Hunter. Contemporary astronomical imagery has Orion next to the "river" Eridanus and two hunting dogs, one of which contains the star Sirius, the name of Orion Black's older son. In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant huntsman who angered the gods, and was subsequently killed by the great scorpion after which the constellation Scorpius is named.

In other versions of the tale, Orion is actually killed by Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, when she is tricked by her brother, Apollo, who is jealous of her love. Apollo bet Artemis that she couldn't hit a small mark down in a river, which was actually Orion's head, visible above the water as he was swimming. Artemis, not realising what her brother was making her do, shot Orion in the head. She then became distraught upon finding out about her mistake.

Behind the scenes

Orion, as well as the rest of his family, may have been sorted in Slytherin.

Notes and references

↑ 2.02.1In Chapter 4 of Half-Blood Prince, Horace Slughorn states: "The whole Black family had been in my house, but Sirius ended up in Gryffindor!" This implies that all Blacks except Sirius were Sorted into Slytherin while Slughorn was Head of House. Orion, born in 1929, presumably attended Hogwarts c. 1940 to 1947, and thus would have been a student of Slughorn, who was stated to have begun teaching at Hogwarts around the same time as Albus Dumbledore in Chapter 5 of Half-Blood Prince, in 1938 or earlier. Sirius Black also states "My whole family have been in Slytherin" and in Chapter 23 of Deathly Hallows, confirming that at least those Blacks closely related to Sirius were in Slytherin.